The Venom of a Serpent
by Allosawyou
Summary: When Shikamaru's team fail in bringing Sauske back to Kohona, Tsunade approves Anko's wish to go after him, due to her knowledge of her past teacher. But can she reign in her personal feelings, to complete the mission?
1. The Mission

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, this is a fanfiction based on the franchise.

Note about Canon: This fanfiction takes events in the manga as Canon right up to the time when the timeskip begins. Anything written in this fanfiction is based on an utterly different turn of events.

The Venom of a Serpent:  
Chapter one: A new mission

Anko was worried, and had been ever since she had heard that Shikamaru's team had failed in bringing Sauske back to the village. She knew better than anyone, besides possibly Tsunade and Jiraiya. She knew the tales of his regeneration jutsu, both from what she had been told by the Third, before his death, what she had figured out in the forest of death, and, finally, the recent events with Sauske Uchiha.

'I must not allow my personal feelings to make me act rash. I remember all to well how much Orochimaru outmatched me last time.' Anko thought to herself, as she stood outside the Hokage's office. She kept telling herself that it wasn't her fault, but, she knew she would have made the difference, and been a good candidate to lead Shikamaru's team, if she wasn't on a mission when Sauske defected, due to her knowledge of Orochimaru's ways.

Still, that was why she was here. Slowly, she reached out to knock at the door, when, suddenly, it opened, and Tsunade poked her head out.

"Anko. This must be serious. You're using the door." Tsunade said, referring to Anko's tendency to use windows, and even walls as enterences.

Anko sweatdropped. Although Tsunade hadn't been Hokage for long, she could read most of the ninja like an open book.

"Hokage-sama, I have a request. I've figured out that the recent defection of Sauske makes Orochimaru a massive risk..." she began.

"Don't you think I know that?! I know the basics of Orochimaru's reincarnation technique too, although, not the methods of it being done." Tsunade shouted.

"You also know, then, that I know the most about Orochimaru, and his ways, possibly more than even you, after being his student."

Tsunade's face fell, she hated to admit it, but, Anko was likely right.

"And, judging form Naruto's reports, Sauske's Cursed Seal of Heaven has fully activated, and his Sharingan have ascended to the third stage."

Tsunade nodded, she had a good idea where this was going.

"I want to ask you if I could lead a team to try and get Sauske back.I'll have a better chance than a team of Genin and a single Chuunin." Anko said.

Tsunade pondered this for a moment, before she replied.

"The village is weak, and you want a team of Chuunin, and you, to leave, and go after a Genin? Usually, I would decline this. However, this is Sauske we are talking about, and Orochimaru. With the Sharingan in his possession, Orochimaru would be unstoppable. We don't need to worry about war, we are already at war with the Sound, due to their killing of the Kazekage and Hokage. Suna is on our side, so, if this triggers more violence from the Sound, we will be prepared for it."

Anko waited for a straight answer, as Tsunade thought out loud.

"I'll grant your mission request. However, I'll ask that you do not allow your hate for Orochimaru get ahead of you. Do what damage you can to the Sound, but, do not forget your mission!"

Anko nodded, and went to gather her squad.

...................................................

"WHAT?" said a middle-aged man, who had ginger hair, and a few freckled on his face. He wore his Chuunin garb, and the headband on his forehead.

"Yes, Shihiko, we are going to the Village of Orochimaru." Anko said calmly. Shihiko was always a hothead.

"Calm down, Shihiko, I'd rather be with Anko than the Hokage herself for this one." said the third member of Anko's team, a black haired man, who's raven hair was at shoulder-length, of slightly younger age than his companion. He too wore standard ninja garb, but, had a scar across both his eyes, and, was calm and level-headed.

"Ah, shut it, Dihero" said Shihiko, to which the ginger-haired man scowled, but, stopped protesting. Both of them knew that Anko's knowledge of Orochimaru was second to none.

The woman looked at both of them. They were both Chuunin, although, they had only remained so that they formed a three-member cell with Anko as the undisputed leader. After all, their styles suited each other, and Anko proved to be a good freind, not to mention her hyperactivity rounded out the trio, known as the 'HACT', the 'Hyper, Aggressive, Calm, Trio'.

"When do we leave?" Shihiko asked Anko, his brown eyes looking into hers.

"We need to prepare, and recover from the last mission. One week. I know this gives Orochimaru time, but, we have no option." Anko said.

Secretly, she had a feeling they would be too late. After what the Third did to Orochimaru, it seemed likely he may be inclined to swap to the young Uchiha's body sooner rather than later, which gave them such a small time frame, that they may already be too late.

And Anko wouldn't be able to bring Sauske back, not as Orochimaru. At least, not alive.

NA: Get used to non-canon characters, there'll be quite a few cropping up. 


	2. The Technqiue

"I will not fail like those kids did". This is what Anko told herself while she trained. All of the kids who had came so close to capturing Saskue, had all nearly lost their lives, and all of them were Genin who she had proctored in the second stage of the Chuunin Exams. Including that Naruto kid, the one who fought the Uchiha brat.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hand!" Anko cried, as four snakes extended from her wrist, and their teeth slammed into a tree, injecting venom, which left a dead patch of bark.

Orochimaru had taught her. So, he would know everything that she was capable of. However, something he never understood was that simple fact that one person alone, can never be as strong as a group united by a common cause.

Daihiro then showed up at the field where Anko was practicing her technique, and, as per usual, was very quick to make a comment.

"Anko, isn't it about time you worked on something else. You know, we will have to work as a squad to take on Orochimaru, if we meet him." he said, almost shouting the name Orochimaru.

That was a big mistake. Anko directed her snakes towards Daihiro, and, only stopped herself when the snakes were inches away from impacting.

"You...know...not...to...do...that!" Anko gasped, clutching her shoulder suddenly. While her teammates did not know, whenever Anko's emotions got out of check, she had to struggle to keep her Curse Seal under control, stop Orochimaru from turning her with the influence, as he did with Sauske.

The kid had been branded in the exact same way, the Curse Seal of Heaven, and, ever since he was branded with it, occasionally, Anko would have to fight for control, even when she was calm, or her normal self.

Why this was, Anko did not know.

Still, Daihiro was standing stock still, shocked, as per usual, that Anko almost killed him.

'Man, that woman is scary when she is angry. Even if I could become a Jounin if I wanted to, she'd still tear me to bits, with that reaction time, after all, she did hold her own against Orochimaru.' Daihiro thought.

Then, a third set of footsteps echoed through the field. Anko was aware of this, before the voice commented. The clam voice of Shihiko.

"Daihiro's right, Anko, we need to train as a team. After all, maybe the snakes would like trying our new combination technique." Shihiko said.

"You're right, just... had another one of my moments..." Anko said. Her 'moments' being her battles for control over the seal.

"Alright, well, let me do my thing, Doton: Sticking Swamp Jutsu!" said Daihiro, turning a rather large area of grassy ground into a bog, while nowhere near as impressive as the Great Swamp that Jiraiya could conjure, but, it was impressive enough. "Anko, Shihiko, your up!"

"Hidden Shadow: Snake Catapult!" said Anko, before many snakes flew from both her arms, and, several smaller ones from her mouth.

"Futton: Wind Waves!" said Shihiko, generating waves of wind with his chakra.

The result was the smaller snakes being swept up, and attacking from the air, along with the blades of chakra in the wind, that formed the 'wave' that the small snakes rode, and, the larger snakes dove, unhindered, into the bog, and swam through it. A foe who stayed on the ground, would be bitten in the bog, and one who jumped, bitten by the smaller snakes. It was a no-win situation, and, while it still needed some work to be a blanket effect, due to certain inaccuarcies with the wind, and the snake launching, not to mention how draining the jutsu was on Daihiro, it was still effective, having been used during the Invasion to trap and kill five Sound Invaders at once.

Anko liked the results, the Sound Ninja writhing in pain from the snakes thrashing on them, dying from the venom, while sinking in the bog, and being dragged under. The waves of air-chakra also didn't do much to help. Too bad she passed out from a sudden 'moment' before the ninja died. That one was partually bad. Shihiko and Diahiro had claimed that they had heard a deamonic scream, and the sounds of chirping birds in the area, not too far away, but refused to investigate, due to Anko's state.

'Curse Orochimaru... not only do I suffer these 'moments', but, I missed the after-effects of our justu... and, to top it all off, I inherited his bloodlust!' Anko thought.

She looked down at the snake-filled bog that had formed, and, Shihiko used small waves of air to knock the snakes out of the bog, before Daihiro used some chakra, less than it took to form the bog, to dissapate it.

"Man, that takes it outta me." complained Daihiro.

"Well, you'll get a reat if we happen to fight at a boggy area, won't you?" said Shihiko, coldly.

"And the odds of that are?" screamed Diahiro, hating Shihiko's comment.

"We don't know how high. We could be going to the Land of Bogs, considering how Orochimaru likes snakes, and my snakes like the bogs!" said Anko, cheerfully, and jokily.

"Daihiro, before you ask, there is no 'Land of Bogs'" said Shihiko, before his slightly slow partner either shouted about it, or asked him.

The ginger haired ninja just folded his arms, and grunted. He didn't know how their team would infiltrate the Land of Sound, and get Sauske, with Anko's hyperactivity, his anger issues, and... well, Shihiko had a chance.

Suddenly, Anko doubled over, clutching her shoulder.

"Damn it! It's getting more frequent, and stronger!" she cried, as a single black flame mark sprouted from the seal. It was going down her arm, so remained concealed from anyone else, but Anko could feel Orochimaru, writhing in that seal, inching down her arm.

"I'll need to see a sealing specialist." said Anko, through gritted teeth.

"What? Isn't it a shoulder issue? Wouldn't a medic be better?!" shouted Daihiro.

"I'll explain later! I need a seal specialist!" Anko roared, as the seal's darkness began to effect her mind, and a few more flames sprouted, despite Anko's efforts to keep it down. 


	3. The Seal

"Curse Sealing Jutsu!" said Kakashi, as he placed his hand upon Anko's curse mark.

"It's not ideal, and is likely to weaken as you get closer to Orochimaru, but, hopefully, it should tide you over until you get back." Kakashi explained.

"Thanks, Kakashi." Anko replied, rubbing her shoulder.

"But, something worries me, Anko. You've been seeming to have these attacks more and more often, according to your records, that Tsunade lent to me. And, something else..."

"What is it?" asked Anko.

"They seem to be at roughly the same reported times that Sauske has activated his Cursed Seal. It seems as if, as they are both the same brand of curse seal, when one activates, the other feels the effects as well. It is likely that Sauske is training, or fighting, with his Cursed Seal active, with Orochimaru, which is what is triggering these effects. Also, if the first major attack's time is not wrong, from Naruto's report, that was when Sauske activated the second stage of his cursed seal." Kakashi theorized. Anko always wondered how Kakashi managed to be so clam over these sorts of things, his star student had became a Missing-Nin, and he took it in his stride.

"Have you told your team-mates?" asked Kakashi.

"No... they don't need to know." Anko replied.

"They do! Your teammates you need to trust with your life! And if that seal goes out of control, they could be at risk!" Kakashi said, raising his tone slightly.

"Was that emotion in your voice, Kakashi?" Anko jokily said.

"Only because it's such a serious topic." Kakashi replied, before Body Flickering out of the area, his work done.

..................................................................................................

Daihiro and Shikiko were waiting outside the medical room.

"You OK Anko?" asked Shikiko.

"And why did you need a sealing specialist?" Daihiro asked.

Anko sighed. What she was about to tell them was a classified secret, but, she had no choice.

"You know the large fuss about Orochimaru branding the Uchiha with the Cursed Seal, right? Well, back when Orochimaru trained me, he had nine other students. All of which he branded with the Cursed Seal of Heaven. Nine of them died upon activating the seal. Only one survived, and was cursed for life. That one person... is me." Anko said, looking at the floor.

"So, those 'attacks' of yours, they are Orochimaru?" Shikiko asked.

Anko nodded.

"You lied to us all this time! I know it was a secret and all, but you could at least have told us when it became clear that Orochimaru was a threat!" Daihiro shouted.

"Listen! It's my shame! How do you think people would feel if someone branded the same way as Uchiha, who had been trained by Orochimaru, was living in the village?! They'd consider me a spy, they'd consider me a threat, if Orochimaru took control of me! I'd probably be under the same sort of hate as that Naruto kid was, before he beat that Huyyga kid, Neji!" Anko shouted, grabbing both of her teammates by the neck, and holding back tears.

"You have no clue about how much strain this thing puts on me! You have no clue what Orochimaru has done to me!" she continued, before clutching her shoulder. Her intense emotions causing the seal to try and break out of Kakashi's technique.

Daihiro and Shikiko looked on, both quiet.

"I'm sorry, Anko." Daihiro said, "I understand why you couldn't tell us..."

Shikiko nodded in agreement, showing he too had felt slightly betrayed as well, although he didn't show it.

"Well, that's it for today, guys! I think we need to rest the next two days, before we leave, so we are in peak condition!" Anko said, cheerfully again, before smashing through one of the hospital windows, and dropping a bit of money to cover the cost.

A passerby looked up, and shouted at Shikiko and Diahiro.

"Does she always do that?!"

"More often than Kakashi ends up in the hospital!" Daihiro shouted back.

Somewhere along the road of life, Kakashi sneezed, and realized he was late for his meeting with Tsunade. 


	4. The Arrival

Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter. Exam period for me, so, it's better than nothing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any characters.

Anko's team had left for the Village of the Sound several days ago, and Tsuande had been y regretting the fact that she allowed them to go from day one. Anko, she knew, had links with Orochimaru in the past, and there was a good chance that her feelings, or her seal, would jepodise the mission.

"I hope that Anko succeeds. Naruto will be so pleased if she does." Shizune said, also thinking along the same lines.

"Naruto wants to save Sauske himself. He'll be pleased, but not as pleased as he could be." Tsunade said.

.................................................................................................................................................................................................

"That Sauske kid... is something else. According to what he said, he fought the jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails, and the brat unleashed his one-tailed state." Kabuto said to his master.

"Yes, and to think, after those injuries, and the second level of the seal being awakened, he's already training, and learning from me." Orochimaru said, looking down in the arena that decided what person would become his new body, a few days ago.

"If only the four were faster. Those were your top ninja. Even Kimmimaro died, and you considered him, moving your plans for Sauske foward three years when he showed signs of his illness. You'd be inhabiting Sauske right now, and not that body." Kabuto said.

"Regardless, it gives Sauske three more years to develop his sharingan, and three more years to hone his power. After all, I will only have the eyes of the Uchiha for three years, I don't want to waste them." Orochimaru said.

"Still, without the four, the village of the Sound has became vulnerable, until we can pull more ninja to our cause." Kabuto said.

"Don't you think that Sauske is better than all four of them, and a dying man, combined? The blood of the Uchiha... is beyond what those four had, and his seal surpasses all the others as well.

"You two should stop talking about me like that." Sauske said, from the arena. He was the only one there. The only one being considered for Orochimaru's next body.

"Sauske, we were talking about the future of the Sound. You are pivotal to that. Don't you understand?" Kabuto said, adjusting his glasses, and not looking at Sauske, but past him.

Orochimaru licked his lips, and said something.

"It seems as if an ex-pupil of mine is here too. I can feel a second seal of heaven."

"So, this is the Sound Village..." Daihiro said, looking at the foreboding gates to Orochimaru's lair.

"Well, it seems to be as hard to get into as Kohona. We need to get in viva the front gate." Shikio said.

"Don't worry, I know how to do that..." Anko said, before wrapping both of her allies in snakes.

"Play along." she said.

The two men knew, from the look in Anko's eyes, that this was trouble. 


End file.
